1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improvements in metal-air fuel cell battery (FCB) systems and devices that provide a convenient way of supplying metal-fuel to such systems and devices during discharging modes of operation, and collecting oxidized metal-fuel for recharging.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In copending U.S. application Ser. No. 08/944,507, Applicant discloses several types of novel metal-air fuel cell battery (FCB) systems. During power generation, metal-fuel tape is transported over a stationary cathode structure in the presence of an ionically-conducting medium, such as an electrolyte-impregnated gel. In accordance with well known principles of electro-chemistry, the transported metal-fuel tape is oxidized as electrical power is produced from the system.
Metal-air FCB systems of the type disclosed in U.S. application Ser. No. 08/944,507 have numerous advantages over prior art electro-chemical discharging devices. For example, one advantage is the generation of electrical power over a range of output voltage levels required by particular electrical load conditions. Another advantage is that oxidized metal-fuel tape can be repeatedly reconditioned (i.e. recharged) during battery recharging cycles carried out during electrical discharging operation, as well as separately therefrom.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,250,370, Applicant discloses an improved system and method for recharging oxidized metal-fuel tape used in prior art metal-air FCB systems. By integrating a recharging head within a metal-air FCB discharging system, this technological improvement theoretically enables quicker recharging of metal-fuel tape for reuse in FCB discharging operations. In practice, however, there may be particular applications when, for example, use of the tape-format for metal-fuel is less than desirable. In such instances, the requirements of metal-fuel tape transport mechanisms and the like may be difficult or too costly to implement, that realization of the particular metal-fuel tape FCB system is rendered commercially unattractive from the point of view of the manufacturer and/or users of the product into which the FCB system would be incorporated.
Thus there is a great need in the fuel-cell battery art for an alternative way of and means for electrochemically producing electrical power from a metal-air fuel cell battery system, while overcoming the shortcomings and drawbacks of prior art technologies.